2025 COSMIC HAMLET SENIOR OPEN

The Homer Pickleball Club is pleased to present the first-ever Cosmic Hamlet Senior Open for players aged 50 years and over.

*********** UPDATED INFO ***********

*** MERGED BRACKETS ***

Women's 3.5 has been merged into Women's 4.0

Mixed 3.0 has been merged into Mixed 3.5

*** UPDATED SCHEDULE ***

April 5th, Saturday:

Women's Doubles 3.0: 9:00am

Women's Doubles 4.0+: 12:00pm

Men's Doubles 3.5: 9:00am

Men's Doubles 4.0+: 4:00pm

April 6th, Sunday:

Mixed Doubles 3.5: 9:00am

Mixed Doubles 4.0: 12:30pm

*** CHECK IN ***

Check in at least 30 minutes before your event starts. We can't delay the start of an event if you're late so, get checked in early.

*** OPEN PLAY ***

The SPARC will be open the day before the tournament for teams to practice on Friday, April 4th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

*** WARM UP DAY-OF ***

The SPARC will be opened at 8:00am on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th to allow teams to warm up before tournament play starts. There should also be some warmup time right before your event starts but, it is not guaranteed.

*********** END UPDATED INFO ***********

Tournament Dates: April 5th (Sat) - April 6 (Sun)

Location: SPARC, 600 Sterling Hwy, Homer, AK 99603

Divisions (exact start times will be announced after registration closes on March 29th):

Men’s Doubles 3.0: April 5th (morning)

Men’s Doubles 3.5: April 5th (early afternoon)

Men’s Doubles 4.0: April 5th (afternoon)

Women’s Doubles 3.0: April 5th (morning)

Women’s Doubles 3.5: April 5th (early afternoon)

Women’s Doubles 4.0: April 5th (afternoon)

Mixed Doubles 3.0: April 6th (morning)

Mixed Doubles 3.5: April 6th (early afternoon)

Mixed Doubles 4.0: April 6th (afternoon)

PRACTICE & WARMUPS:

There is not a specific time set aside for tournament practice at the SPARC but, the SPARC has multiple open play sessions available during the week. Currently, their open play schedule is (please check https://sparchomer.org/ for the most up to date schedule):

Tues, Thurs & Fri from 9:45-11:45am, Thursdays from 7-9pm, Saturdays from 5-7pm, and Sundays from 10am-12pm

Warmups before your event:

The SPARC will be open for warmup play an hour before tournament play is scheduled to start each day of the tournament. There may be some warmup time available between events but, this is not guaranteed.

During the tournament, teams will be allowed 5 minutes to warm up before their first game and 2 minutes for each subsequent game.

FORMAT & GAMEPLAY:

Format:

All events will be round-robin format followed by playoffs and medal matches. Round-robin and playoff games will be games to 11, win by 2. Medal matches will be best 2 out of 3, games to 11, win by 2. Some events will be split into separate pools for the round-robin portion of the event. Round-robin and playoff games will not switch sides during the game. Medal matches will switch sides after each game. Medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams.

Game Start:

Teams will flip a coin to start the game. The team that wins the coin toss may choose:

- Serve first

- Receive first

- Starting side

- Defer to opponents

The team that loses the coin toss may choose one of the remaining options. For example, if the winning team chooses to serve first, the losing team may choose which side to start on.

Timeouts:

Each team is allowed two 1-minute timeouts per game.

Designated Courts:

You will be assigned a designated court for each of your games and you will play the entire game on that court. In prior years we've used a 'court swap' system while running the tournament at the HERC. At the SPARC, we have enough space behind the courts so teams can exit the playing area without disrupting play too much. We will not be using the 'court swap' system this year.

When your game finishes, move to the back wall and wait for the adjacent courts to finish their rally before walking behind the court and exiting the playing area. Be courteous and ensure that the adjacent court has finished their point before exiting.

Ceiling & Lights:

Balls hitting the ceiling, lights, or any other permanently affixed items are considered a fault and result in the loss of the rally for the team that hit the ball.

Water bottles:

Water bottles may be brought onto the courts but should be kept against the back wall and away from the net.

Incorrect Score:

Per the USAP Rulebook, if the incorrect score is called during the serve:

A player may stop the rally before the return of serve to correct the score. The point will be replayed and the score will be re-called with the correct score.

If the score is not corrected before the return of serve is hit, players must wait until the rally is concluded and correct the score before the next serve.

A player stopping the rally after the return of serve has been hit to correct the score is considered a fault and results in the loss of the rally.

A player who stops play at any time to identify or ask for a score correction when the score was correctly called will have committed a fault and shall lose the rally.

SPORTSMANSHIP & FRIENDLY COMPETITION:

Sportsmanship:

While this is a competitive tournament, good sportsmanship and a spirit of friendly competition are at its core. We remind players that questionable line calls are to be made in favor of the opponent.

Disagreements:

Players are responsible for line calls on their side of the court. They may call foot faults and service foot faults on the opposite side of the court. If you receive a call against you that you believe may have been wrong, we encourage you to first recognize that you may not have the best view and trust that your opponent is making their best effort at accurate calls.

If there is a disagreement about a call:

1) Recognize you may not have the best view, trust that your opponent is making their best effort, and accept the call.

2) If you still think your opponent made a bad call you can ask them to reconsider but, ultimately, it is their call to make and their choice.

3) If you believe there have been multiple bad calls and you are not able to work it out with the other team you can ask one of the tournament directors for assistance.

Referees:

Games will not be refereed by a third party and it is up to players to referee their own games. However, if you believe you need a third party to help with line calls or foot faults, you may request one. We will try to find a referee for your game but it is not guaranteed that we will have one available. Any referee who is available is doing so as a volunteer and may or may not have official training as a referee.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct:

The tournament director(s) reserves the right to eject a player from the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct. Players will first be given an official warning except in extreme situations.

*Bracket start times will be released after registration closes on March 29th.

**The Tournament Director reserves the right to combine divisions or create additional divisions as required, depending on registrations. Our goal is to provide the best experience possible.

FORMAT:

All divisions will start with round robin play with the top teams advancing to single elimination playoffs. The tournament director reserves the right to alter the format depending on registrations.

Minimum of 3 games played.

IF YOU WANT TO PLAY IN A DIVISION THAT IS ALREADY FULL:

If a division is full and you're interested in playing, sign up anyway and get on the waitlist. We may be able to expand the number of teams depending on registration numbers for other events. We'll notify players if a bracket is able to be expanded after registrations close. A refund will be provided if you're on the waitlist and do not end up playing in the event.

PARTNER MUST COMPLETE REGISTRATION WITHIN 7 DAYS:

After you complete your registration, your team will automatically be moved to the waitlist if your partner does not complete their registration within 7 days. Your team will be moved back into the event once your partner completes their registration (assuming space is still available in the event).

Early Registration until February 28th: $50 includes one event. $10 for each additional event.

Registration from March 1st - March 29th: $55 includes one event. $10 for each additional event.

*NOTE - Pickleball Brackets has a fee of $5/event to a max of $10. This fee goes directly to Pickleball Brackets and is separate from the registration fee. This fee is not refundable.

WITHDRAWALS: The deadline to withdraw is March 29th. No refunds will be given after that date.

Your spot is not guaranteed in your event until both partners are registered and paid in full.